The present invention relates to hand-operated tools for stripping the outer insulation from insulated wire. The tool is particularly useful for preparing coaxial cables for connectors because it can score or sever, in a single operation, more than one layer of insulation.
Insulated wire and coaxial cables are commonplace today as well as are tools used for stripping insulation therefrom. Prior art examples of tools for stripping insulation from a wire or cable are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,377,891, issued Apr. 16, 1968 to Horrocks; 3,869,791, issued Mar. 11, 1975 to Horrocks; 3,600,983, issued Aug. 24, 1971 to Hendry; 2,346,314, issued Apr. 11, 1944 to Lembitz et al; 3,082,523, issued Mar. 26, 1963 to Modes et al; 3,813,966, issued June 4, 1974 to Knuth; and 3,215,007, issued Nov. 2, 1965 to Stallings. There remains, however, a need for an improved wire stripping tool and in particular for an improved tool designed to sever, in a single operation, the insulation and outer conducting layers of coaxial cable to prepare it for connectors.
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a practical, economically manufactured, easily manipulated, hand-operated tool for stripping insulation from wires of varying diameters. A further object of this invention is to provide a tool having a plurality of cutting blades which can be easily adjusted not only for depth of cut but also for length of cut thereby providing a tool particularly adapted to sever the insulation and outer conducting layers of coaxial cable to prepare it for connectors.
These and other objects are achieved by the manually operable wire stripping tool of the present invention which comprises a cutter block having at least one circular cutter blade, eccentrically and adjustably mounted thereon, and a means for biasing a wire toward said cutter blade. In a preferred embodiment, a manually operable tool of the present invention includes a U-shaped rail which has a cutter block assembly fixedly attached and a body assembly slidable attached thereto, said cutter block assembly having a plurality of circular cutter blades, eccentrically and adjustably mounted thereon, and said body assembly having cable supporting means.